The L Word
by Margo'sShed
Summary: Set just after Rita and Robyn leave Zoe's hen night. Rita sustains a minor injury and attempts to steal back into the ED to sort herself out without being noticed by Mrs Beauchamp...


**The L Word**

 _ **A freechamp one shot.**_

"Opps! Fuck..."

Rita's grip slipped on Robyn's arm and her legs wobbled alarmingly as she struggled to keep the other nurse upright whilst they waited for the taxi.

"I am never, ever drinking again..."

Robyn slurred as she spoke, her words running together and she leant heavily against Rita without warning, knocking her off balance. The two women stumbled, Rita tripped up the curb, and, with the full weight of Robyn against her, she fell against the wall, the side of her face meeting with the rough brick, her ankle twisting sharply in the stilettos she wore and she found herself meeting the pavement with a dull thud.

She winced. Her face stung instantly, and when she made to swallow she felt the roll of something hard against her tongue. She spat out the little piece of something into her hand, squinting at it in the dim light of a street lamp.

It gleamed a creamy white between her fingers and she pushed her tongue to the back of her mouth. She could feel the sharp edge of a tooth that had come clean away and she drew her tongue away quickly.

"You OK?"

She murmured, pushing the piece of tooth into the front pocket of her jeans and reaching out for Robyn who lolled against her leg, crushing her twisted ankle.

"I think I fell over."

Robyn groaned, her head throbbed behind her eyes and as she struggled to move she felt the lurch of nausea within her stomach again.

Rita exhaled slowly and leant forwards, helping Robyn to shift herself so that she could remove her leg from beneath her.

"Do you feel OK?"

Rita asked as Robyn got to her feet, wobbling alarmingly and holding out her hands to balance as though she were standing on a surf board instead of solid ground.

"I'm fine, I think I'm fine..."

Robyn stared down at the ground, watching how the curb refused to stay still and the flare of headlights made the rain water along the side of the road glare a brilliant orange. She stumbled backwards again, causing Rita to flinch where she sat on the cold ground, expecting to be fallen on again.

A taxi pulled up next to them and the window rolled down.

"Good night, girls?!"

An elderly man with small round glasses and an amused expression called out to them. Robyn murmured something inaudible beneath her breath and opened the back door of the taxi as Rita forced herself to stand.

She managed to get to her feet despite the weakness within her ankle and she limped to the car, crawling in beside Robyn, one hand covering the side of her face that had met the wall.

"Where to girls?"

The driver asked, waiting until the door was closed before looking back at them in the rear view mirror.

"You coming back to mine?"

Robyn asked, swaying slightly as the car pulled away slowly.

Rita withdrew her hand from her face, her palm was warm and sticky with blood and she could feel the dribble of it running down her jaw and down into the collar of her coat.

"You go home...I'll see you in safely but then I need to go and get this checked out."

She hunched the shoulder of her coat up against the side of her face, tilting her head, trying to stop the blood flow.

"18 Brook Street please, and then...could you drop me off at Holby City Emergency Department?"

She asked, raising her voice over the hum of the engine as she met the drivers eyes, watching as he gave a brief nod and flicked his indicator to show that he was turning left.

-.-

It had taken much longer to get Robyn safely back into her own house, and into her own bed than Rita had anticipated, and by the time they arrived at the entrance to the ED her ankle had begun to throb violently, her face stung so much her eyes were beginning to water and she couldn't bare to look at how much she owed on the taxi fair.

The cab driver parked as close to the entrance as possible and flicked on the light over head, twisting around in his seat to smile at her.

"How much do I owe you?"

She asked, reaching for her bag.

"Shh, don't worry about it."

The driver waved a hand and smiled back at her, watching as her eyes widened and she glanced to the illuminated numbers that showed the fair, nearly thirty pounds...

"But..."

"Just you go and get yourself sorted out."

He said, and he pushed the button to release his seat belt and opened the drivers door, the car swaying as he climbed out and made his way around the back of the car to open her door.

"Out you get."

He held out a hand, his eyes twinkled from behind his glasses, the kindness behind them reminding her briefly of Charlie.

She took his hand and allowed him to help her out into the cold. She shivered and held herself up, placing more and more pressure onto her ankle warily.

"Do you need a hand getting in?"

He asked, looking at her from over the top of his glasses.

"No, no, I'm fine..."

She shook her head and drew her lips into a thin white line, the pain was setting in, rapidly growing worse and she felt her stomach begin to churn as the aching throb of her ankle and her face intensified.

"Thank you."

She added, and held up her hand in a brief wave, watching him go before turning awkwardly on the spot and hobbling her way in through the entrance.

Once she reached reception she paused, she eyed the reception staff and the three patients that sat on chairs reading magazines, waiting to be seen, and as hurriedly as she could she slipped passed and made her way along the corridor towards the staff room.

She stopped abruptly as she neared Connie's office. A glow of yellow lamp light shone from beneath the door, and the glass strip was illuminated. Rita held her breath. She would have to pass by in order to get to the staff room.

She exhaled, cursing beneath her breath, and she held herself against the wall, ever so carefully casting a quick glance through the very edge of the glass to where Connie sat, her head bowed, her finger running down the edge of a piece of paper that she was reading.

She paused, trying to order the fog within her head, trying to decide on what the best thing to do would be. She could risk limping passed and being seen, she really didn't think her ankle would hold out if she tried to take the long way around...she glanced to the floor.

She could crawl! She felt a sudden surge of relief as the idea struck her and slowly, carefully she lowered herself to the ground, gritting her teeth against the pain that lowering her head bought to her face, and she shifted her legs so that she could crawl passed the office door on her hands and knees.

Taking a breath in she shuffled forwards, taking a moment to gather herself, the tiled flooring was making her eyes swim and co-ordinating her arms and legs to move in sync seemed a lot harder than she remembered it being. She closed her eyes against the darkness that threatened to overcome her and pushed on, creeping passed the door, keeping her eye on the line of light, following it until her hands made it to the other side of the door frame.

She exhaled all at once and relaxed, but as she did so her right leg wobbled and her swollen ankle began to cramp up, making her jerk her leg involuntarily, the heel of her shoe clattered loudly against Connie's door.

"Shit! Fuck!...fuck,fuck,fuck..."

She let her head fall into her hands as she heard the scrape of a chair and the sharp sound of Connie's heels. Rita groaned, her forehead resting against the the floor, he head feeling surprisingly good against the cold hard tiles.

The door to the office opened slowly, out of the corner of her eye Rita could see the black toes of Connie's Louboutin's, and the faint blue veins across the top of Connie's foot.

There was a pause, and for one ridiculous moment Rita wondered whether Connie hadn't seen her.

But then she cleared her throat, and again Rita exhaled a low groan from her throat.

"Sister Freeman...I'm sure I will regret asking this, but what exactly are you doing?"

Connie asked, her voice making Rita wince.

"Um..."

She breathed out, and ever so slowly she raised her face to look up at the other woman, her vision blurring.

"Rita?"

Connie's face seemed to fade in and out of focus, and she seemed to speak without moving her lips.

All of a sudden Connie was kneeling next to her and Rita felt the cold clammy sweat that comes before fainting prickle across her forehead.

She felt pressure on the back of her head, and an arm on her shoulder easing her back.

"Head down."

Connie murmured, helping Rita into a sitting position, her hand on the back of Rita's head, keeping it lowered as the nurse began to feel the blood rush back, clearing her vision.

"Sorry..."

Rita murmured, blinking and raising a hand to touch her jaw.

"Let me get that seen to."

Connie said, ignoring her apology and easing one arm about Rita's waist, arranging the nurses arm about her own shoulders, helping her up.

Rita gave a yelp as they stood, her ankle giving way causing her to fall into Connie's arms, clutching the clinical lead with both hands, her fingers pinching her skin beneath the fabric of her shirt.

"What seems to be the problem now?"

Connie asked, trying to ease the grip Rita had on her upper arm.

"My ankle..."

Rita spoke through gritted teeth, desperate to close her eyes against the swaying ward. Surely she hadn't drunk enough to be this fuggy headed...?

Connie drew in a long breath and sighed. She pursed her lips, and, prised Rita's fingers from her shirt as she placed an arm at Rita's back, and leant down.

"Hold on."

She instructed, her voice straining as she curved her other arm about Rita's knees, lifting her slowly, gaining her balance before straightening herself up, realising as she did so she should have taken her shoes off first.

Rita craned her neck to glance down at the floor, alarmed to find herself suddenly lifted off her feet, even more so to find herself in the arms of Connie Beauchamp.

"Stay still."

Connie murmured, concentrating on not tripping as Rita twisted to watch the floor go by.

Connie shouldered the curtain of cubicle one out of the way and stopped by the edge of the bed, easing Rita down onto it, relieved to be putting her down despite how little the nurse must weigh.

The nurse shifted against the bed, her ankle seemed to be seizing up and the skin on one side of her face was sticky and crusted with dried blood.

"I take it you had a good night?"

Connie asked, though the tone of her voice indicated it was rhetorical. Rita glanced up at her, watching as she removed Rita's shoes and placed them neatly on the chair in the corner before moving back to touch her cold fingers against the throbbing warmth of her swollen ankle.

"Yeah...it was...yeah."

Rita cleared her throat. She knew Connie wasn't the least bit interested in her evening. She pursed her lips to stop herself from talking and instead focused on the flex and strain of her ankle as Connie pressed and pulled with her fingers.

"Luckily it's just a sprain."

Connie murmured, running a hand across the smooth skin of Rita's foot.

"I'm not as well practised in heels as some people."

Rita answered slowly, watching as Connie cast a glance in her direction, one eyebrow perfectly raised.

"I think this has less to do with your shoes, and more to do with the amount of alcohol that you have consumed."

Connie let her fingers linger against Rita's skin as she spoke before looking back down to the swollen ankle.

"I'll put a support on it, but I will have to cut your jeans in order to do it properly."

She touched the hem of Rita's skinny black jeans and the nurse pulled a face.

"Cut them?! I only bought them this morning! Can't you just take them off?"

She asked. She had paid much more for them than she had wanted to, and the thought of Connie cutting them up made her feel even worse.

Connie paused, drawing in a breath that she released all at once.

"Uh...yes, I suppose so."

She murmured, casting an eye to the zip of Rita's jeans.

"Do you want to..."

Rita followed her gaze and reached for the fastening, fumbling with the buttons, suddenly very aware that she had chosen an option that would leave her very exposed in front of this woman whose very presence alone caused her discomfort.

She undid the button and with fingers that trembled ever so slightly, she lowered the zip, shifting her hips to peel the fabric from her waist, gritting her teeth against the pain that radiated up her leg as she moved.

Connie watched for her struggle for a moment, feeling the familiar prickle of exasperation. This woman seemed to have the ability to frustrate her and amuse her all at once.

At last, giving up, Rita huffed back against the bed, biting her lip against a spasm of pain, closing her eyes just as the black devil horns she wore on a hair band slipped down to cover her eyes and she frowned against the sudden darkness when she blinked her eyes open again.

"Wha...?"

With careful fingers Connie removed the hair band from over the nurses eyes and placed them on the table beside the shoes.

"Oh."

Rita mumbled, following the other woman's movements.

"Let me help."

Connie said quietly, and with only the briefest hesitation she eased her fingers into the waist band of Rita's jeans, easing them down with difficulty, waiting for Rita to hold herself up so that she could nudge them lower. The backs of Connie's fingers grazed and pressed against her legs all the way down, from her thighs to her ankles making her shudder and goosebumps rose across her skin, a reaction that didn't go unnoticed by the other woman.

Once they were removed Connie shook them out and folded them on top of her devil horns, doing her best not to look at the half naked nurse before her, but even though she averted her eyes, she could glimpse the sheer pale blue lace of the underwear she wore.

Quickly she bandaged Rita's ankle, the material tight about her skin, her fingers moving deftly, tucking the end of the bandage in against her bare skin before standing back, satisfied.

"Now."

She rolled up her sleeves and moved to the head of the bed, to where Rita lay, watching her every move.

"Let's get you some pain relief and clean up that face."

She said quietly, reaching for the trolley, undoing a box of painkillers and pressing them from the foil packaging into the palm of her hand before offering them to Rita, who took them with a murmured thanks, waiting as Connie half filled a plastic cup with water before placing them into her mouth.

She accepted the water and swallowed, screwing up her face against the taste, she had never been very good at swallowing tablets, and now, for some reason she had chosen to swallow two at once.

"Ok, hold still for me."

Connie wetted the gauze swab she held and, with one hand against Rita's opposite cheek Connie leant in close, dabbing and wiping at the dried blood of her face, her gentleness taking Rita off guard and she glanced up at her. Connie's forehead was creased with a frown of concentration, her lips were ever so slightly open and her eyes were focused on the job at hand.

Rita found herself staring, and yet she couldn't seem to look away, she had never before had a reason to be so close to this woman, and now that she was, seeing for the first time how Connie's hazel eyes were flecked with gold and green, how her face was scattered with freckles and her lips were the soft pink of summer roses. She wanted to savour it, she wanted to freeze time, to hold this moment within her hand and keep it there, safe.

"You're so beautiful..."

She spoke before she had realised she was going to say the words out loud. Connie raised her eyebrows in mild surprise, her hazel eyes glancing at her, her face so close.

"Sorry."

Rita apologised as quickly as she could, her cheeks flushing under the other woman's gaze.

"No need to apologise."

Connie murmured, seemingly unable to look away from the wide brown eyes of the nurse. Something about the other woman attracted her, despite there differences, and now that she was faced with her she couldn't deny it, this woman drew her in, and made her heart beat just that little bit faster.

Rita swallowed hard, her head seemed suddenly clearer. She glanced to Connie's mouth, her cheeks growing even warmer, and Connie's fingers were still paused in mid-air, the gauze stained brown from her blood.

"Would you mind if I...I mean..."

Rita cleared her throat involuntarily and looked again to Connie's eyes , seeing the glitter of something familiar there. She had resisted the urge to kiss this woman so many times in the past, but now she could feel that resistance failing, but despite her inebriation she still felt the burning fear of rejection.

"I just..."

Connie's fingertips silenced her, resting ever so gently against her lips and Rita's breath caught in her throat.

"You don't need to ask my permission."

Connie whispered, leaning forwards, and the flicker of a smile whispered at the corner of Rita's mouth as Connie kissed her, her lips so soft, the smell of her skin, of her perfume, and her make up so intoxicating, so heart-achingly perfect that all the nurse wanted to do was to admit everything, every moment she had walked in step with Connie, her body just that little bit closer than necessary, every time she had been snapped out of a day dream as she stared at the closed door of her office from where she stood at the nurses station...

She pulled away with a start, her breath quick, and she bit her lip against the light headedness she felt.

"Fuck!"

She exclaimed, louder than she had meant to and Connie pulled back slightly, confused.

"What?!"

She asked, she could still feel Rita's lips on her own, she could still taste the alcohol on her breath, a taste she was surprised to discover she didn't find unpleasant.

"I almost told you that I love you."

Rita whispered, her eyes wide, her fingers gripping tightly onto Connie's forearm.

"Ah..."

Connie paused, her lips down turned, the glimmer of a smile behind her eyes as she stroked Rita's hair from her face.

"Well, thank goodness you managed to restrain yourself."

She whispered.

-.-

Hello everyone, this is just a one shot idea that I had after watching the brief Casualty hen night episode on Saturday. I hope everyone enjoys reading it. Feel free to leave a review to let me know what you think :) Thank you in advance! xxx


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